He even helps out Carpenter with her farm and when he is tried to give reparation "Life of the Hebrews "(P.26) he would always mutter, too righteous to take from others for his work. Lastly, Carpenter learns humanity from her farm being ruined by an opossum. The possum destroyed her farm and pulled up her roots, and made Carpenter seethe with rage. She became so mad she "tightened my grip on the shovel and looked down at the beast. "(P.78) She realizes after killing the opossum, that she had become a savage herself, and that all people have a human rage to commit savage acts they did not know they had. Humanity plays a very key role in the story, whether it is from losing humanity to understanding human nature.
Secondly, Carpenter learns to appreciate herself and others while being an urban farmer. Carpenter is housing chickens on her property and see's how they live daily. She is amazed at how the chickens function. The birds even "pick up rocks, which travel into the gizzard. Once there, the pebbles are ground against one another by the gizzard's contractor's "(P.48). She appreciates how they figure out ways to perform the tasks that need to be done, regardless of any setbacks they might have. Second, Carpenter appreciates how a farm can help bring out the best in people. Carpenter feels as though she "Had become this garden-its air, water, soil. " She feels as though she gave life to the garden, and now that it has grown it gave back to her. Lastly, Carpenter appreciates the values and lifestyle of a farmer. She feels as the goal of a farmer is to be "Self-sufficient, to raise their own meat and milk, to build their own house. "(P.107) Doing this is aspiring to her, that you can build something from the ground, off of the land, and mold it to be a lifestyle that can suffice. Appreciation of her works and those of others helps to humble Carpenter and make her a better person. .
Lastly, Carpenter learns fear while being a farmer in Oakland.